Through Our Children's Eyes
by SashaAndAngieFans
Summary: Jane and Maura have been best friends for years and now they both have a daughter of their own. What will happen when Gabriella and Lizzie decide to follow in their mother's footsteps? Chapter 6 posted.
1. Chapter 1

Through Our Children's Eyes

By: SpecialAgentZivaDiNozzo & MauraRizzoli

A/N: Hola! We're excited to announce that this is our first collab based on the show, so enjoy!  
>~SpecialAgentZivaDiNozzo &amp; MauraRizzoli<p>

Disclaimer: We don't own Rizzoli & Isles, the characters, the books or the show.

Chapter 1: Elisabeth

The smell of dead bodies hit my nose before my mom's overbearing perfume did. "Are you alright, honey?" she asked me, looking up from the corpse she was dissecting that day.

"Yeah, Mom." I answered for the fifteenth time. I hated going to work with my mom. It wasn't that I didn't like being with her…it was her job. She was Dr. Maura Isles, medical examiner for the Boston PD and it was not only gross, but it stunk, literally. "Why couldn't I go to work with Dad?" I whined.

"Your father had a very important and dangerous case today, you know that." she told me. I sighed and tried to focus on my Algebra, despite the horrible smell assaulting my nostrils. My dad was Agent Gabriel Dean of the FBI, and what I would've given to be sitting in his office instead of with my mother in the morgue, which reeked of dead people and cheese.

Just then, my mother's best friend, Detective Jane Rizzoli walked in. "What do we got, Maur?" she asked, crossing her arms and walking over to my mom.

"Signs of strangulation indicated by bruising on the neck." my mom answered, pointing it out.

After they were done, Jane came over to where I was sitting at my mother's desk.

"Hey, kiddo. Gabriella's upstairs if you want to go hang out." she told me.

Of course, my mother jumped in. "She has Algebra to finish." my mom responded for me. _Great. Just great. My one-way ticket out of the "Dead Zone" taken by my mother. _

"Ok, well, whenever you're finished…" Jane said, walking out, smiling at me.

My mom acted like I was the biggest slacker, and that, couldn't be farther from the truth. I had straight A's. "Mom, can I just-" I started, but got cut off.

"No. Finish, and then you can go. I told you about the time that I didn't do my homework, and it-" she began, but I cut her off.

"Dropped your grade down to a "B-" making you end up with second highest GPA that year." I finished, deadpan. She gave me a look. "Fine, I'll finish." I conceded

. "Thank you," my mom said, once again returning to her corpse.

"Hey, sweetheart." a voice said, a few minutes later.

"Dad!" I yelled jumping off the chair and running into his arms.

"Hey, Lizzie. I hope your mom's not boring you to death." he joked with a laugh.

"Excuse me." Mom joked back with a smile, peeling off her gloves and taking off her goggles.

"Hey, honey." he said, kissing her.

"Oh, gross." I said.

"Can it, Lizzie." Dad joked.

I finished up the last problem and raced to the elevator, thankful to be rid of the dead people and cheese aroma. "See you, Mom!" I called.

"Be careful!" she called back.

…...

I saw Gabriella, Jane's daughter and my best friend, lounging in her mom's desk chair. I waved. "Hey, Gabby." I teased, knowing that irked her.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." she responded tightly.

"Why? Will you kick my ass?" I joked, smiling.

She glared. "Lizzie, I'm warning you. Don't think I can't. Did you forget who my mom is?" she asked.

I smiled. "My mom stabbed someone with a scalpel once." I said proudly.

Gabriella snorted. "Come here, nerd." she said, hugging me. We were so different, but we were best friends, not unlike our own mothers.

"Elisabeth, come on, we still have to try on that dress before dinner at Jane's." my mother said. I rolled my eyes.

"Mom, do I have to wear a dress?" I complained.

She placed her hands on her hips. "Yes, now let's go." she told me, and I sighed, following her.

Gabriella shot me a "Better you than me." look, and I glared at her.

…...

"Mom, I look stupid!" I complained, as I got out of our car, pulling at the itchy dress my mother had forced me to wear.

"No, you don't you look beautiful, now stop it." she insisted.

I sighed. "Easy for you to say, Mom. You look like a Parisian runway model." I told her.

"She's right, you know." Dad agreed, smiling.

I rolled my eyes. "Not helping!" I told him.

"Sorry honey, can I help it if your mother's hot?" he asked. God, I had to born to a fashion crazed mother?

"Well, thank you, sweetheart. You're not too bad yourself." she answered, laughing as we walked up to the door to Aunt Jane's apartment. Oh, God! Oh, God! Mom, Dad, flirting. Save me!

Jane was my godmother so it was just easier to call her aunt. Mom held Dad's arm and smiled. Uncle Joe opened the door a few seconds later, in a nice shirt and pants. Thank God, I wasn't underdressed. "Come on in, guys. Janie's just about got dinner ready." Uncle Joe said.

"Call me Janie one more time, Joe…" Aunt Jane warned him.

"Sure, Janie." he said, laughing.

"You're just looking to get your ass kicked aren't ya?" she asked, waving a wooden spoon at him.

"Baby, you can kick my ass any day of the week." Uncle Joe said, smiling.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Aunt Jane teased, stirring the sauce in her evening dress. "Gabriella! Lizzie's here!" Aunt Jane yelled.

"Hey, Gabe, what's up, man?" Uncle Joe asked, shaking my dad's hand.

"Nothing much, and you, sir?" Dad asked.

"I'm pretty fine. The game's just gone into half-time and the Sox are down by one. Grab a beer and come watch." Uncle Joe said, as my Dad grabbed a beer from the fridge and joined him on the couch.

"Ok, you both got five minutes, then dinner." Aunt Jane said.

"Hey, Lizzie. Hey, Auntie Maura." Gabriella said, coming out of her room in a nice dress. I smirked.

"So much for that now, huh? You thought your mom wouldn't make you dress up." I said.

"Oh, shut up." she replied, smiling.

"Girls…" Mom interjected.

"Hey, Maura, you mind settin' the table for me?" Aunt Jane asked.

"Sure." My mom started setting it as Gabriella and stood talking.

After it was set, Aunt Jane called the boys to dinner. "Aw, Janie, it's the bottom of the ninth, five minutes to go!" Uncle Joe protested.

"I don't care. Dinner. Now." she replied, shutting it off as the men groaned and shuffled over, sitting down.

I sat down, pulling at my dress. "You're beautiful, sweetheart. Stop fidgeting." Mom chided.

"But Mom…" I started.

"Elisabeth Anabelle Dean, don't start." Mom warned.

_Crap, I hate this dress. Note to self: Get mom to take you shopping to buy a less itchy dress._ "So, ladies, how was work?" Uncle Joe asked, dishing out the pasta.

"We caught a triple homicide." Aunt Jane offered.

"How'd they die?" Dad asked, and that was when Mom went off on one of her medical speeches. This was going to be a very long night.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: We hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Here is the 2nd. Just in case you were wondering Sam is writing Elizabeth's POV and I (Kirstie) am writing Gabriella's POV.

Chapter 2: Gabriella

We were having a family dinner that night. Oh, fun. The only good thing about that was that Maura and Elizabeth were coming along. If it was up to me, I wouldn't be bothered with this dinner. All my parents talk about anyway is cases and I have no interest in that. Well, I guess I can't say that I'm not interested because I want to follow in the footsteps of my mother, Jane Rizzoli. I just didn't tell her yet. A lot of people describe me as the twin of my mom and I kind of don't see that. Yeah, I do take after her instead of Dad but all looks aside, our personalities are different. I am tough like her and I am that no bull crap type too but I have a more sensitive side then she does, not that I like to show it. What made this worse was that Mom forced me to where a dress. It's not that I hate wearing them; I don't mind, but I don't see what's so great about them. I see how Maura wears dresses all the time and I don't think I could ever do that. My dad told me that Jane used to be the same way as me just a few years before I was born. I wonder what changed that.

I was reading Lauren Kate's new book when I heard my mom call my name. "Gabriella! Lizzie's here!" I closed the book and ran downstairs. I waved and said hello to our guests. Lizzie couldn't stop smirking at me. I told her earlier that there was no way my mom would get me into a dress. I guess I was wrong. I glared at her but then I gave her a huge bear hug. We stood around talking about school when our mother's called us to the table. The baseball game was almost finished but they didn't get to see the end and that made me laugh. One thing about me that is totally different from my mom is that I laugh at almost anything and that gets me into trouble a lot. While I sat at the table, I glanced back and forth from Maura to my mother. I would think some of Maura's style has rubbed off on her. They're even wearing the same shoe brand; Chanel. Seeming that I know famous shoe brand names, it must be rubbing off on me too.

Soon, they started to talk about a case and that meant that Maura and her giant vocabulary that I don't think any one of us understands was coming around the corner, though at times, I'm curious and end up looking up what she goes on about. When they weren't looking, I slipped one of my ear buds into my ear and played some music. Lizzie noticed and winked at me. There are some things I can stand but I draw the line at some point. Maybe when or if I become a detective, I'll listen to them more but until then, I don't want to be a part of it. I was starting to fall into the heavenly abyss which was my music when it was ripped out of my ear.

My mother held the ear bud in her hand and glared at me. "Ow." I said and rubbed my ear. "Can you be just a little bit less aggressive next time?"

"I told you not to listen to music at the dinner table. This is a time for us to share what happened during the day." my mother said and gave it back to me as I put my iPod away.

"Well, I'm sorry. I don't want to hear you guys ranting about cases." I told them truthfully. "I'm sure Lizzie agrees." I looked over to her and she stayed quiet. "Fine then."

"You know this is what we do, Gabby." My dad told me in a calmer voice. They always used that nickname and I couldn't stand it.

"I know that. Do you think I'm stupid?" I said in an angry tone.

"Where are you getting that attitude from, Gabriella?" my mom asked me.

"Oh, I think you know." I said under my breath and I think she heard me.

"Okay. That's it. If you're going to be disrespectful, go to your room." My mother said forcefully as I stood up and pushed in my chair. I saw Maura shaking her head out of the corner of my eye. I ran upstairs, closed my door and fell onto the bed.

"God…I didn't do anything." I said to myself as I covered my face with my arms.

I heard the door open and I expected it to be my mother ready to lecture me or Lizzie walking in to laugh at me.

"Go away." I said immediately.

"Are you crying?" I heard Maura ask. When I realized, I sat up and looked at her.

"No. I'm not crying. I'm just mad." I said honestly.

"Why?" Maura asked me as she sat down next to me.

"I don't think my mother gets it." I said while playing with my hands.

"Why do you say that?" Maura asked.

"Well, she yells at me in front of you guys and embarrasses me. That's one of them." I explained. "I just…don't want to hear about cases and autopsy reports…no offense."

"I understand…but we love our jobs and I know that you know that. And she's only yelling at you because she wants you to learn a lesson." Maura explained.

"Yeah, whatever." I said as I put up my hair and when I looked at Maura she was smiling widely. "What?"

"You remind me of her…your mother." Maura said with a wink.

"Oh really?" I said and laughed. "What about her? And don't say anything about looks because I already know that." I pointed to my curly black hair.

"Well, you do look a lot like her but you guys have the same attitude. You're both courageous, determined, beautiful, smart, funny-" Maura explained but I interrupted her.

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe." I told her while looking her in the eyes. "Maura…did I ever tell you I wanted to be a detective?"

She thought back for a second and replied, "No. No. I don't think you have."

"Oh. Well, I do. And when I hear you guys talking about how stressful it is and all the problems, I don't know if I want to do that anymore." I said with a frown. "I'm afraid to tell Mom because I doubt she would want her daughter doing that."

"Honey," Maura said while grabbing my hand. "If that is what you want to do, don't let any of that discourage you, okay?" I nodded. "I think she would let you do it. Any mother would be scared, of course. Ask your grandma. I can tell you for a fact she didn't want Jane going out there and doing that but in the end, she let her because she knew that's what your mother loved and I think she'll do the same for you."

"I hope you're right, Maura." I said with a smile.

"I am." Maura said with a wink. "Do you want to go back downstairs now? We have to leave soon."

"Yeah." I said as we headed back downstairs. My dad and Gabriel were cheering because they found out the Sox won and Lizzie was carrying dishes over to my mother at the sink. When she saw me, she mouthed "Ooh" to me and I mouthed "Oh, shut up" back to her. Lizzie went to stand by Maura when I walked over to my Mom. I could tell she was mad at me.

"Mom…" I said and she didn't say anything back. "I'm sorry." I went to walk away but she grabbed my shoulder lightly.

"It's okay." She said with a warm smile. "You better hang out with Lizzie because she's leaving in 10 minutes."

"Okay." I said as I ran over to Lizzie and plopped down next to her. Then Maura went over to the sink and was probably talking about me because they kept looking over at me.

"What was all that about?" Lizzie asked me and I laughed.

"Oh. It's a long story." I said with a smile.

"Come on. It can't take longer than 10 minutes." She said with a wink.

"Well…" I started to say and glanced at our mother's. "I'll tell you upstairs."

We both stood up and ran upstairs. We sat down on my bed and I started to tell my best friend what happened.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thanks for the reviews. We appreciate it. Here's Chapter 3.

Chapter 3: Elisabeth

I was going to be late for school, all because my mom couldn't find her Gucci purse. I was not about to have my perfect attendance record botched because my mother's outfit didn't coordinate. "Mom!" I tried again, ear buds in my ears and backpack slung over my shoulder.

"Oh, fine." my mom finally said, settling on a white one. She grimaced.

"No one has died from their accessories not matching their outfit, mother. You just might be the first though." I told her.

"Don't use that tone with me, Lizzie." she told me.

I looked so much like my mother but I sure didn't share her passion for fashion. My blonde hair was clumsily pulled into a braid that I had done myself. I followed her out to her sleek, black Lincoln and climbed into the front seat, listening to the rhythmic clicking of my mom's Dior heels on the concrete as she got in the driver's side. I clicked my seatbelt and pulled my door shut. I turned up the music hoping to avoid an awkward conversation on the way to school. Luckily, it worked. In the school car loop, I smiled when I saw Jane's Boston Homicide cruiser ahead of us. I hugged my mom tight.  
>"Have a good day at school, Lizzie! Be productive! And remember, wash your hands. There can be at least three thousand species of bacteria in any given area." my mom told me, kissing my head. I ran over to Jane's car and peeked in the window.<p>

"Hey, kiddo! How are ya? Can't stay long, Frost just texted me. We got another one." she told me.

"Oh, cool! Does mom know?" I asked.

Jane smiled, waving her phone. "She does now." she answered, winking.

"Bye, Mom!" Gabriella said, kissing her mother's cheek.

"Be good, you two. I don't want to have to arrest you. I don't know how I'd explain that to your mother, Lizzie." she said, laughing.

I kissed her cheek and told her to be careful as she and my mother drove off. Gabby turned to me and we walked toward school.

"What was that text about?" she asked, looking at me.

"What text? Oh, the one this morning? Nothing." I replied.

"Come on, you know I know I know you better than that, Lizzie." she said.

I hesitated, and the bell rang, freeing me from the awkwardness of the conversation. I ran into the building, Gabriella trailing behind me.

…...

All throughout the day, Gabriella tried catching my eye, but I looked down at my eighth grade writing prompt, avoiding her. After the end-of-day bell rang, she cornered me by my locker. "Look, if you're mad at me, tell me. Just don't avoid me like this!" she said angrily.

"I'm not mad at you, I have a secret. I've never told anyone this, not even my mom." I said, looking down.

"What?" she said.

"I want to be…a medical examiner." I finally said.

"What? I thought you said-" Gabby began. I cut her off.

"I know what I said, but I changed my mind. I've been taking the medical classes here behind mom's back." I admitted.

"How did you-" she started.

"Dad signed off for them but I begged him not to tell her." I said.

"Why? She'd love it. She'd be so proud." Gabriella insisted.

"I couldn't. I told her once that I would never be one and it broke her heart." I said.

"Ok, fine. If you won't tell her, I will, when we walk home." Gabriella told me.

"No, don't! She'll kill me. It will go something like this: Hi, mom. I lied before and now I really do want to be an ME. Sorry for almost breaking your heart and yeah, I've been hiding all my school report cards because then you would know I was taking medical classes behind your back. How do you think that'll go over? She'll start the freaking waterworks and then I'll feel horrible for lying to her." I tried.

"Like I said, if you don't, I will." she said again. Oh crap, I was in so much trouble. This…was not going to be fun.

When we got to my house, I smelled cookies. "Hey, Mom! You're home early. Quick case?" I asked, grabbing a cookie from the plate.

"Yes. Very." My mother replied.

Gabriella started to talk. "Hey, Maura. Lizzie has something-" I clapped my hand over her mouth, dropping my bag to the floor.

"No, it's ok." I said, smiling as mom came out and offered the plate to Gabriella. I took my hand off her mouth as she grabbed a cookie.

"Good day at school? Did you learn anything new?" Mom asked me.

"Not really." I said, biting my cookie. She threw her shoulder length blonde hair behind her shoulder and smiled at me.

A few seconds later, before my brain could register it, Gabriella blurted, "Lizzie wants to be a medical examiner." and that was when I fainted.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Here's Chapter 4. Please read and review and let us know what you think.

Chapter 4: Gabriella

It was that time again; time for school. Oh, how I love getting up at 5 in the morning; not. That isn't the only annoying thing though. You also have to deal with mean teachers, outrageous homework assignments and the most annoying thing of all is having to deal with these people. I'm only in 8th grade and these kids already stuck up and full of themselves. I pray to God I don't end up like them.

My mother drove me to school that morning and was already called in for a case.

"What happened?" I asked her curiously as she pulled into a parking place.

"It's a double homicide about a mile away." She explained. "Why? I thought you didn't care."

"It changes on a daily basis." I said with a wink as I noticed Maura and Lizzie pull into the space next to us. I waved to them with a huge smile. "Well, I will see you later." I gave her a hug and a kiss.

"Bye. Be good now." My mother said as both she and Maura drove off toward the crime scene. Then, Lizzie and I made our way into the building.

All throughout the day, I could tell something was up with Lizzie. I could just feel it and besides, there's no way she can hide something from me. We've been having play dates since we were babies and we haven't been apart ever since. She was doing a great job at avoiding me and I had to see what was up.

"Hey." I said as I grabbed her by the arm. "You know, if you're mad or pissed at me, come on out and say it. You don't have to do this."

Lizzie looked at me and rolled her eyes. "You're my best friend. Why would I be mad at you?"

I crossed my arms. "Well, what's your explanation for avoiding me then? Don't try to say you weren't."

Lizzie sighed. "Okay." She put her books away and got her backpack out. "I have a secret and I didn't tell anyone this."

"Well, come on. Tell me." I told her.

She whispered. "I want to be…a medical examiner."

What she told me shocked me. "What? I thought you wanted to be-"

"I know. I know. But I changed my mind. " Lizzie explained. "I'm afraid to tell Mom though. And I've been doing these classes here behind her back and if I tell her, she'll kill me."

"Lizzie, come on. Maura will be thrilled." I said with a smile. "Trust me. I know these things. Yeah, she might be a little mad that you lied but she'll get over that."

"But Gabriella-" Lizzie started to say but I interrupted her.

"No. You're going to tell her." I said forcefully. "Or I will."

"No…you wouldn't." Lizzie said with a shocked face. "She'll kill me!"

"She won't. I promise." I said with a reassuring smile.

"I'll do it when I'm ready, okay?" She told me and I nodded but I could tell she had no plan in telling her mother.

"Whatever you say, Lizzie." I said with smile as we walked out of the building and walked home.

Lizzie and I always walk home so we have more time to talk. Soon, we got to Lizzie's house and when she opened the door, a delicious aroma hit my senses; Maura's chocolate chip cookies.

"Mom? You're home already. It must've been a quick case." Lizzie said as we walked into the kitchen and ate some of the cookies.

"Yes. It was." Maura said with a smile.

I knew that if I didn't do this for Lizzie, that she never would get the courage to say it herself. I know Lizzie would kill me for it but I had no choice.

"Lizzie wants to be a medical examiner." I said it fast but clearly. The next thing I knew Lizzie was following backwards and I caught her. Both Maura and I gave each other shocked looks. Boy, was she going to have a lot of explaining to do.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Hey. Sorry that this chapter took a while. But now we're back. Please read and review. We love you guys.

Chapter 5: Elisabeth

"Lizzie?" my mother's light voice reached my ears as I woke up on the floor. I opened my eyes to see my mom and Gabby hunched over me.

"Mom? What happened?" I asked, sitting up as she pulled me into her arms.

"Lizzie, honey, you went vasovagal, and in other words, you fainted." Mom told me

. "I did?" I asked.

"Yup, right after I told her you wanted to be an ME." Gabriella said.

"You. Did. What?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"I told her…you wanted to be an ME." she repeated slowly.

"Mom, uh, I'm gonna go lie down." I told her hastily, getting up from the floor and hurrying into my room, slamming the door.

A couple of hours later, I came out to watch TV while mom cleaned. The loud hum of the vacuum stopped after a few minutes and Mom came out, holding a brown box and wearing a frown. Dad looked over from the kitchen table and quickly opened a newspaper. "Care to explain?" she asked me.

"Um…not particularly. Can I pass on that?" I asked hopefully.

"No. Why do these report cards say "Medical Technique 1" but the ones we've been getting say "Gym", hmm?" she asked.

Well, crap. "Ok, look. I want to be an ME, I didn't tell you because I thought if you found out I lied to you, it would break your heart. I'm sorry, Mom. For the record, Dad knew and he signed the medical class forms. Just saying." I said. Sorry, Dad. I'm not gonna be the only one caught in Hurricane Maura.

She turned to him, and he put down his paper. "You knew? Why didn't you tell me? Didn't you trust me? I would've let her sign up, I would've been proud! What the hell were you two thinking? Faking report cards, not telling me things!" she yelled.

"Maura, honey…" Dad started.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Elisabeth. Lying to me twice, how could you?" she said, tearing up.

Oh, geez. Perfect. I am such a good person, not. "Mom, oh, mom, don't cry." I said, jumping up to hug her.

She wiped her tears and put down the box, bending down to my level. "Honey, I'm so proud that you want to be like me. Please don't lie to me. Remember that you can always tell me anything. I'll be here for you." she said, pulling me in for a tight hug.

"I know, Mom. I know." I said, still feeling like crap.

"Now, you girls go on upstairs and do your homework. Gabriella, remember that your mother's surprise party for her promotion is tonight, ok?" Mom said to Gabby as we grabbed our bags and thudded up the stairs.

We opened our Algebra textbooks and began completing the problems we'd been assigned. Gabriella looked up at me a few hours later as we finished up the last few problems. "My mom was promoted?" she asked me, shock painting her features.

"Yeah, to head of the homicide unit, didn't she tell you? My mom told me." I replied, writing my name, Elisabeth Dean, on my notebook paper.

"No she didn't." She snapped her book shut. "I wonder why. Maybe she just didn't want us all making a big deal over it. Mom's gonna flip when she realizes what your mom planned. She hates parties. I bet Maura's in cahoots with my grandma. I really don't want to be here when they yell "Surprise." She might start shooting and then where would we be?" She asked me, stuffing the large book in her backpack as I followed suit.

"Oh, come on, I'm sure she'll love it." I answered. "Lizzie, my mom hates surprises. If you think she'll like it, you obviously don't know her very well." Gabriella replied. 

At around six, we heard people starting to hide downstairs so we quickly clambered down and jumped under the wooden dining table as my mom shut off the lights.

We heard footsteps approach the front door and the knob turn.

"Hello? Maura? Gabriel? Joe? Lizzie? Gabby?" Jane's husky voice called out as she entered. She felt around for the light switch and flicked it on.

Everyone jumped up as Gabriella and I scrambled out from under the table, joining in the cheer of, "Surprise!"

Not two seconds later, it went pitch dark again. Gabriella and I screamed. When my dad finally got the lights working, we stopped.

"Is everyone ok?" Uncle Joe yelled.

"Not everyone," I replied, "where's my mom and Jane?"


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thanks for the reviews! Here's Chapter 6.

Chapter 6: Gabriella

So, Lizzie ended up passing out because I told her Mom she wanted to be an M.E. I had to tell her. If I didn't, maybe she wouldn't have even told her but you know, parents always find out somehow.

I stood there watching as Maura and Lizzie argued back and forth. It turns out that Maura found out Lizzie's real report cards. Then, Maura started to cry.

"Damn." I mouthed to her and she glared at me. Lizzie ran over to her Mom and hugged her. _Aww. A Happy Ending. _I thought to myself and laughed.

"Now, you girls go on upstairs and do your homework. Gabriella, remember that your mother's surprise party for her promotion is tonight, ok?" Maura asked.

_Surprise party…promotion? _"Uhh, yeah." I said with a fake smile as we headed upstairs.

When we finally finished our homework, I asked. "So, my mom was promoted?"

Lizzie looked at me. "Yeah. My mom told me. Why, she didn't tell you?"

"Nope. Of course not. But I mean, why would she, you know?" I said as I slammed my book shut.

"Oh, Gabby-" Lizzie started.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." I said with a groan as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure she was going to tell you." Lizzie told me as we put our stuff away.

"Oh, you think so? Yeah, maybe when I finally found out, she'd tell me, like nothing happened." I told her, trying to hide to how hurt I felt.

Lizzie could tell I was sad and hugged me. "It's going to be okay."

I shrugged. "Look, I know my Mom isn't the type of person to get excited over something. We both know that's true but come on, she has the nerve to wait last minute to tell me something big like this? You know what? When I get pregnant someday, I'm gonna wait 'til the last minute to tell her. We'll see how she likes it."

"You know you wouldn't be able to hide being pregnant, Gab." Lizzie said with a smirk.

"Oh. I can. I'll just hide from her from the rest of my life. She tends to do that with Grandma." I said while playing with my fingers.

"I think you're overreacting a bit too much. Come on. It's almost time." Lizzie said as she stood up and pulled me up from the bed. "Come on."

I groaned. "I don't really feel like it now."

"My mom is right. You're so like your mother." Lizzie said as we walked downstairs.

"I am not." I said with a glare.

"Are too." Lizzie said with a wink while I growled.

A bunch of our parents friends were downstairs. I saw my dad and waved to him. I also saw my grandparents, Uncle Frankie, Detective Korsak and Detective Frost.

"She's coming." Maura said enthusiastically. "Everyone get ready!" Lizzie and I ducked under the table as Maura turned off the lights.

We heard footsteps and the knob turn. "Hello." My mother called out. "Is anyone here?" As she turned on the light, we all jumped out and yelled surprise. She was about to say something when the lights turned off again. Lizzie and I screamed our heads off until my dad got the light back on.

"Is everyone alright?" my dad asked.

"Not everyone…where's Mom and Jane?" Lizzie asked and we looked throughout the room. They weren't in sight. I got sick to my stomach.

"M-maybe Maura and Jane are having a talk outside." I said hopefully and everyone headed outside. "Mom! I know you hate surprises but come on, it's mean to run out on your own party." I said loudly.

Everyone searched around the whole house and they couldn't find them anywhere.

I held back tears. I walked up to my Dad. "Dad…what happened?"

I could tell he was about to lose it too. "I don't know, sweetie. I don't know." He pulled me into a hug. He smiled at me and walked over to the group.

I walked to the end of their driveway and looked down the road both ways. _God. What happened? _ I asked myself as I started to cry. Lizzie followed me and was crying too. We hugged each other tightly and cried together. We had to find Jane and Maura.


End file.
